Well-wishers bid officer goodbye

MARTINSVILLE -- Dustin Starnes stood before the mass of mourners, with his trooper hat hung low, casting a shadow over his reddened cheeks. With his younger brother Ryan standing beside him, Dustin read a poem.\nAnd although Ryan wasn't supposed to say anything, as the two sons made their way off the stage, Ryan returned to the microphone; he was moved to do so by the number of people who came out to that Martinsville High School Saturday morning.\nBetween tears, he expressed his regret.\n"I just want my father to be proud of me," he said.\nSergeant Daniel Starnes died July 10 after being shot seven times three weeks before. Now, the father of two will never see his youngest son get married or graduate from the police academy.\nHundreds of people gathered in the high school auditorium. People of all ages sat, crying. Flowers of red, yellow, pink and white adorned every inch of the stage and in the middle rested the sergeant's coffin, draped in an American flag. Behind it, rising just above the crest of the coffin, was a photo of Starnes in his police uniform. He joined the Martinsville Police Department in 1996.\nSeveral hundred police officers came from all over the state to honor their fallen brother. Many, who didn't even know Starnes, felt a loss all the same.\nMany of the officers donned full uniforms, many of them even wearing bullet-proof vests beneath their shirts. And as family members and colleagues spoke of Starnes' compassion and understanding, the normally straight-faced police officers were reduced to tears.\nFriends spoke of Starnes' love for the outdoors. His youngest son Ryan remembered when his dad was teaching him to hunt deer and he fell asleep in his chair, only to awaken as the chair broke, scaring away all the deer. Television screens displayed pictures of Starnes riding horses and four-wheelers as friends and colleagues entered the auditorium.\nBut what was the most important point those in attendance wanted to get across was Starnes' compassion and love for all people.\nHomer Henderson, chaplain of the Morgan County Sheriff's Department, delivered the eulogy. He said Starnes was respected by those even in the jail, even by those he arrested because he cared for them and he believed in them.\nSheriff Charlie Beaver, who hired Starnes, said he commanded respect from everyone.\n"He had a unique way of communicating with people," he said. "His soft words and his mild-mannered demeanor helped him deliver a message that awarded him a lot of respect."\nWhen Starnes first applied for a position at the Morgan County Sheriff's Department, he wrote in his application that he would do his best to serve the community.\n"I would like to share with this department that I am a dedicated member of this county and with this selection would be proud to serve the people of Morgan County," he wrote. "I would do my best to serve the community and the department well." \nFormer Sheriff Terry Weddle read Starnes' statement to the congregation and when he was done said, "I want to assure Dan's family and everyone else the Dan lived up to just what he wrote."\nStarnes' brother Donnie hadn't prepared anything when he approached the stage; he said he wanted to just speak from his heart. He repeatedly thanked everyone for coming to the funeral, he continually expressed his shock at the number of people who had come to show their respect.\n"I am so proud of my brother," he said slowly, between tears. "It means so much to me that all of you came here today."\nStarnes leaves behind his wife, Janice; sons, Dustin and Ryan; his father J.C.; brothers Donnie and Paul; sister, Brenda; numerous aunts, uncles, cousins, nephews and friends; as well as his law enforcement family.\n"Dan Starnes serves as a role model to us all," Weddle said. "He was devoted to his family. He was able to make this a better world for his family, the community and the department he served"